Apparatus for repairing runs in fabrics



UeC. 22,1931. VM. Mec/ANN 15,837,463

APPARATUS FOR REPAIRIN RUNS IN FABRICS Filed April 24, 1929 5 sheets-sheet 1 kof Ho, w

M. MCCANN Det. 22, '1931.

APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING RUNS IN FABRICS Filed April 24, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 SGD" l Snom/woz /V/c//e/ /V 9 Can/7 Dec. 22', "1931. M. MccANN APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING RUNS IN FABRICS Filed April 24, 1929 5 sheets-sneu s Dec. 22, 1951. M MCCANN 1,837,463

APPARATUS FORXREPAIRING' RUNS IN FABRICS Filed April 24, 1929 5 sheets-Sheet 4 A u wuemtoz /V/c/me/ /V'QCo/m W1/'5 @www MNM M. McCA'NN APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING RUNS IN FAERIcs Fii'ed April 24, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Svwemtoz /V/c/me/ /VQCa/m @g1g MSG/@mugs ivDc. 22, 1931.

Ilm. Ill lll Iii of this invention;

Patented Dec. 22, 1931' UNrrfsu STATES APPARATUS non arritmias nous in Feiss-10s Application sied April 24,

@ne of the objects ofthis invention is the provision of a new and novel machine roi `repairing runs in knitted and woven' fabrics.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus of the general ture and objects disclosed in the application of William H. Leavin and Samuel BfLeavin, Patent No. 1,"108-,675a patented April 9; i929.

notherobject. of this invention `is the provision of a machine in which the fabric containing arun which is to be repaired such as a stocking is placed upon a supporting member having two spaced bars so that the cross threads which traverse the run lie in the teeth thereof. l

A further object offthis` invention 1s the provision in a machine ofthe abovetype of a head'having a vertically reciprocable or oscillatable needle mounted therein which 1s adapted to be movedlongitudinally in the spacer barsin a step by step movement so that the needle will descend betweenthe transverse'threads andei-ect a repair of the run.

A still further object o-f thisinvention is the provision of automatic means-for stopping the movement of the head at a predetermined pointfin either direction. Y

A still'further object of'thisinventioninvolvesa needle bar construction by means Vof which the needlemay be pointed in either of two directions so thata run may be repaired from either end.- o y These and many other objects as will be apparent from the detail disclosure to be given hereinafterV are successfully sought by means of this invention. l

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction, arrangement and relative location of parts all as will be set forth in -greaterdetail below Figurel` is a top planview of'thedevice Figure 2 is afront elevational view of the device; y

Fig. 3 is a righthand elevational view of the machine wit-h a portion of the head broken away;

Fig; lisa leftfhand elevationa-ltview of 192e; sei-iai no. 357,669. Y

the machine with the sto form removed; y

Fig. `5 is an enlarged elevational view of the operating mechanism atfthe left' han@ end; f

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the clamping means for holding the stocking in' place on the spacer bars; p

Figs. and 8 are enlarged detail'views of the construction of the nut which drives the head;` p

F ig. 9 is a central longitudinal cross-sectional view through the automatic stopping pinwhich opens the nut; and,

Fig. l0 is an enlarged plan view ofthe spacer bars with a stocking mounted thereon;

The general purpose-of this invention is the provision'of another form of machine of the type disclosed in the above patent by means of which runs in knitted and' woven fabric, such as ladies stockings may be repaired. Als disclosedY in that patent, the knitting needle oscillates or reciprocates in a vertical path while the runof the fabric ispresented thereto in step by step motion. This machine diiferentiates vbroadly from that machine in that the run of the stockingV is supported in a fixed position and the head on which the vertically oscillatable needle is supported, moves longitudinally of the run in step by step movement to eilect the same result, namely a repair of the run. Y

In order to clearly understood the invention `and this distinotionreference will be made in detail to the drawings. The machine is shown as comprising a base plate l having supporting standards 2 and 3 at each end firmly secured thereto. Journaled in these standards is a rotatable shaft d having a longitudinal slot or groove la and having secured thereto the driving pulley 5. Mount-r ed to slide along this shaft is a hollow head 6. Also journaled in the standards below the shaft t is a threaded shaft 7" which passes through openings in the lower end of the head s" 6. The two halves 8 ofthe nut supported within the lower end of the head 6 for engagw ing with the threads on the shaft 7 are shown in a similar relation in Figs. 2 and 3 and will` be described in detail later. small rod 9 king supporting' is also supported in the standards on which are slidably mounted the arms 10. The outer ends of these arms 10 as clearly shown in Fig. 6 are provided with downward projections 12 which form a jaw bv cooperation with the linger 13 pivotally supported on the outer end of the arm 10. A fiat spring member 14 mounted on the arm 10 resiliently engages the upper end of the linger 13 and is held there by means of the pin and spring 15.

rl'he spacer bars 16 having the teeth 16a on the upper edges thereof held in spaced relation by means of a plate 17 which lies between them and to which they are secured. lilnclosing these plates and engaging them a short distance below their upper edges is the elliptically shaped form 18. rj'ecured to the plate 17 as shown in Fig. 2 is a plate 19 which is pivotally supported on the pin secured in the plate 20 which is in turn attach-ed to the standard 3.

By means of this construction the spacer bars may be swung outwardly as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l so that the fabric to be repaired can be easily put in place.

V17 ithin the head (5 and encircling the shaft 4 is a cam 21 which is engaged by the forked ends 22a ofthe lever which is plvotally supported at 23 on the head and within it. This cam 21 has a pin 21a secured thereto which rides in the slot 4a of shaft 4. rlhe end of lever 22 is provided with a transverse pin 24 which tits in the slotted end of the member 25, which, in turn engages the collar 26 secured to the vertically movable needle bar 27. The lower end of the needle bar is provided with a small screw for holding the needle 29 therein. The exact structure of this needle is not described here since it is of the type disclosed in the patent mentioned abo-ve. In general, it is hooked at its lower end and provided with a spring pressed latch. Encircling the needle bar 27 is a bushing having a large portion 30 thereon which engages the spring 32 between it and the head. The enlarged portion 30 is slotted and engages vith the pin 31 secured to the needle bar 27. rlhe lower end of the bushing 33 is encircled by a collar 84 having the handle 35. Since the head moves both to the left and right, it is necessary to be able to swing the needle 29 through an angle of 180O which is accomplished by means of the handle 35 and collar 34.

Secured in the lower end of the head 6 on the pivot pin 36 are the two halves 8 of a threaded nut which engages the threads on the shaft 7. These two halves are urged together by means of the spring 38 and are provided at their upper ends with the wedge shaped portions 89.

A pin 49 slidably supported in the head G is provided as shown in Fig. 9 with recesses to receive the wedge shaped portions 39. l/Vhen the pin is in the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the two halves 8 of the nut are drawn together so that they engage the threads of the shaft '7. `When the pin is moved either to the right or left so that the wedge shaped portions 39 ride up on to the cylinder portion thereof, the two halves 8 are open as shown in Fig. 7.

At the other end of the machine the shaft 4 is shown provided with a cam 45 which is partly e circled by the cani followers 47 and 50. Cam follower 50 has secured thereto, a finger 51 and cam follower 47 has secured thereto, the finger 48. Finger 48 engages the ratchet wheel 49 and linger 51 engages the ratchet wheel 58. As shown in 5 these ratchet wheels are arranged so that their teeth point in opposite directions. rlhey are secured to the shaft 7. 'lf he cam followers 47 and 50 are drawn toward each other by means of spring 46. Fivotally supported at 55 on standard 2 are the fingers 52 and 53, which are drawn towards each other by means of spring 54. Also pivotally supported on the standard 2 is the lev r .3G which is secured to a cam 57 which engages the hng-ers 52 and 53 dependingupon in which direction it is pointed. rEhe operation of the device will now be given, assuming for purposes of illustration that the fabric to be repaired is a ladys stocking. The spacer bars 1S are swung outwardly and the stocking is telescoped thereover so that the threads which extend transversely of the run lie between the teeth 16a, one thread lying between two adj acent teeth. llhis is shown in Fig. 10 which is somewhat enlarged to clearly disclose the idea.

The spacer bars 16 are encircled by the stocking and the threads which traverse the run are shown at T, one line between each set of adjacent teeth on each bar. Of course, in the actual device, the thickness of the spacer bars at the teeth is not great since the run which occurs in such fabric is usually not very wide. The spacer bars are then swung back to the full line position shown in Fig. 1 and the arms 10 are swung down to the position shown more clearly in Fig. 5 so that the stocking is gripped against the spacer bars by means of the jaws comprising the lingers 12 and 18. These firmly hold the stocking in place under tension. Vile will assume that the head G is at the right as shown in Fig. 1. In order to move the head to the left it will be necessary to rotate shaft 7 in a counter clockwise direction when viewed from the end in Figs. 4 and 5. To accomjlish this the lever 5G is in the position shown with the cam 57 forcing the finger 53 outwardly, which in turn moves linger 51 outwardly. Finger 51 does not therefore engage its ratchet wheel. Finger 48 does however engage ratchet wheel 49 and linger 52 is in a position to prevent any revuse or backward movement of the cam 49 as finger 48 is moving upwardly to engage another tooth. Pulley 5 is now driven from any suitable power source causing shaft 4 to rotate as well .as cam 2l, finger 3 and cam 45. The rotation of cam 2l causes through the oscillation of lever 22, vertical movement of the needle bar 27. At the same time the rotation of cam 45 causes an up and down movement of finger 48 so that ratchet wheel 49 is rotated in a step by step movement and rotates with it shaft 7 Y The rotation of shaft 7 by reason of its engagement with nut 8 causes a step by step movement of the head to the left. As a result the needle 29 is presented step by step to the cross threads of the run so that it may descend between them in'succession, eifecting l a knitting and interlocking of the transverse threads T, in a manner whichV has been described in more detail in the above mentioned patent. If the run is of sufiicient vlength to permit it the head 6 continues to move to the left until pin 4() strikes stop 42. This holds the pin 40 against movement and head 6 continues so that the halves 8 of the nut move up the inclined recess in the pin 40 until the wedged ends 39 thereof ride up on the cylindrical portion of thepin. The nut then disengages the threads on the shaft 7 and the head stops even though shaft 7 continues to rotate. A similar result is secured in the longitudinal movement of either direction.

2. In an apparatus for repairing runs in knitted fabrics, the combination comprising toothed means forsupporting the fabric so that the threads which traverse the run are held inspaced relation, a vertically oscillatable bar for supporting a needle arranged so that the needle will descend between the transverse thread, means for oscillating the bar and moving it longitudinally andmeans for manually rotating the needle bar through 180"v so that the needle will point in the proper direction depending on the direction of the longitudinal movement of the bar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 20th day of April, A. D.

MICHAEL MGCANN. i

the needle bar v in movement of the head in the opposite direc-V tion when pin 4() strikes stop 4l, Fig. 2. For this reverse movement of the head it is necessary to turn the needle 29 so it is pointed in the opposite direction which is accomplished by means of the handle 35.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be apparent that I have devised an exceedingly new and novel arrangement by means of which runs in woven and knitted fabrics may be rapidly and accurately repaired.

I am, of course, well aware that many changes in thev details of construction and relative arrangement of parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the principles and construction of my device and I do not therefore desire to be limited to thedisclosure given for pur- -poses of illustration but ratherto the scope of the invention as it is defined in the appended claims. v

What I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. In an apparatus for repairing runs in knitted fabrics, the combination comprising means for supporting the fabric, so that the threads which traverse the run are held in spaced relation, a vertically reciprocable needle bar supported to move between said transverse threads, means for reciprocating the needle bar and moving it longitudinally of said means for supporting the fabric and means for automatically interrupting the 

